A tentative record of Dendronephthya cf. sinaiensis from the Arabian Sea: A challenge and molecular evidence in the taxonomy of nephtheid octocorals

The genus Dendronephthya , a soft coral lacking zooxanthellae, is complex taxonomically and poorly documented in the Arabian Sea region. In this study, we collected and identified a colony fragment of Dendronephthya cf. sinaiensis from the Lakshadweep Archipelago, Arabian Sea. Morphological analysis of the shape of the colony, the pattern of polyps, and the type of sclerite agrees with the description of D. sinaiensis from the Red Sea. Molecular analysis of the mitochondrial mtMutS gene revealed identical sequences to reference D. sinaiensis entries in public databases. Nonetheless, due to the limited diagnostic power of mitochondrial markers in nephtheid octocorals and overlapping features among Dendronephthya species, species-level identification remains provisional. This study represents the first molecular record of Dendronephthya from the Lakshadweep Archipelago, expanding its known range into the Arabian Sea. The findings highlight the importance of integrative taxonomy, including SEM-based morphology, nuclear genetic markers, and broader sampling, to accurately delineate species boundaries within this challenging octocoral genus.